No. 1 SMC survives cold shooting, remains undefeated

Published: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 12:54 a.m.

WALTERBORO — Spartanburg Methodist had to prove for five extra minutes that it is the best junior college basketball team in the country.

Only hours after officially being named No. 1 in the latest NJCAA rankings, SMC stayed undefeated (26-0) with a 65-63 overtime win Tuesday night against USC Salkehatchie behind 31 points and 17 rebounds from former Chapman High School standout Jalen Nesbitt.

When a last-second 3-pointer by USC Salkehatchie bounced off the rim and landed in the hands of SMC’s DaQuan Jeffries (Broome) as the final buzzer sounded, the Pioneers started jumping up and down. After calming it down for the postgame handshakes, they got back on their pogo sticks and bounced all the way into the dressing room.

“Everybody was going wild,” Nesbitt said. “It was crazy.”

“They were very excited,” SMC head coach Jeff Brookman said. “They knew how important the game was and they played their hearts out. For me, I was relieved. I was exhausted.”

SMC is just four games away from finishing a perfect regular season. The Pioneers improved to 9-0 in Region 10 and can clinch the championship on Friday at home against Cape Fear, along with an automatic berth and their second straight trip to the NJCAA Division I national tournament next month. They would also be the top seed for the league tournament, which will reward a second team with a spot in the national event.

The Pioneers somehow survived a game in which they went 0-for-21 on 3-pointers. Just one of those would have sealed the victory without even needing an overtime period.

“I just told the guys that they are lucky they have a shooter (former all-conference player at Belmont-Abbey and top scorer in Switzerland pro league) as a coach,” Brookman said. “I kept telling them during timeouts to shoot with confidence. Be ready. You’re going to knock one down. But it never happened.

“The way you win games like that is to be tough and fight the fatigue. … And you should have a player like Jalen Nesbitt on your team.”

Nesbitt made a pair of free throws with two minutes left in regulation to cut a lead by USC Salkehatchie to 55-54. SMC had the ball and a chance to win with 17.7 seconds remaining, and that was trimmed to an inbounds play with 5.1 seconds left after the Pioneers were trapped and had to call timeout.

Kelsey Terry missed a 3-pointer from the corner, the last long-distance try of the night for the Pioneers, but Nesbitt rebounded and was fouled with 1.4 seconds on the clock. He made the first, missed the second and grabbed the rebound but couldn’t get a shot off in time.

In the extra period, Terry made two free throws, Ronell Crockett (18 points) converted on a driving layup and Nesbitt followed up a miss for a 61-58 lead with 3:15 left. Nesbitt stretched that out to a five-point lead a minute later. With just 40 seconds remaining, Travis Black managed to gather a loose ball and made a short jumper for a 65-60 advantage.

USC Salkehatchie made a 3-pointer at the other end and SMC missed the front end of a one-and-one from the foul line to set up the last chance for USC Salkehatchie. The Indians called timeout with five seconds left, but missed what would have been the game-winning shot.

SMC got a victory at USC Salkehatchie for the first time in the three years coached by Brookman, who improved to 55-7 during the last two seasons.

“There wasn’t much difference between the two teams, obviously,” Brookman said. “”They played their hearts out and Coach (Travis) Garrett had them ready to play. I knew they would be tough.”

But the new No. 1 team in the country gets another chance Friday night at home to keep that label for at least a little while longer.

“It was a little bit different knowing that we are No. 1,” Nesbitt said. “We’ve always had that kind of confidence, though. We’re having a lot of fun.”

<p>WALTERBORO — Spartanburg Methodist had to prove for five extra minutes that it is the best junior college basketball team in the country.</p><p>Only hours after officially being named No. 1 in the latest NJCAA rankings, SMC stayed undefeated (26-0) with a 65-63 overtime win Tuesday night against USC Salkehatchie behind 31 points and 17 rebounds from former Chapman High School standout Jalen Nesbitt.</p><p>When a last-second 3-pointer by USC Salkehatchie bounced off the rim and landed in the hands of SMC's DaQuan Jeffries (Broome) as the final buzzer sounded, the Pioneers started jumping up and down. After calming it down for the postgame handshakes, they got back on their pogo sticks and bounced all the way into the dressing room.</p><p>“Everybody was going wild,” Nesbitt said. “It was crazy.”</p><p>“They were very excited,” SMC head coach Jeff Brookman said. “They knew how important the game was and they played their hearts out. For me, I was relieved. I was exhausted.”</p><p>SMC is just four games away from finishing a perfect regular season. The Pioneers improved to 9-0 in Region 10 and can clinch the championship on Friday at home against Cape Fear, along with an automatic berth and their second straight trip to the NJCAA Division I national tournament next month. They would also be the top seed for the league tournament, which will reward a second team with a spot in the national event.</p><p>The Pioneers somehow survived a game in which they went 0-for-21 on 3-pointers. Just one of those would have sealed the victory without even needing an overtime period.</p><p>“I just told the guys that they are lucky they have a shooter (former all-conference player at Belmont-Abbey and top scorer in Switzerland pro league) as a coach,” Brookman said. “I kept telling them during timeouts to shoot with confidence. Be ready. You're going to knock one down. But it never happened.</p><p>“The way you win games like that is to be tough and fight the fatigue. … And you should have a player like Jalen Nesbitt on your team.”</p><p>Nesbitt made a pair of free throws with two minutes left in regulation to cut a lead by USC Salkehatchie to 55-54. SMC had the ball and a chance to win with 17.7 seconds remaining, and that was trimmed to an inbounds play with 5.1 seconds left after the Pioneers were trapped and had to call timeout.</p><p>Kelsey Terry missed a 3-pointer from the corner, the last long-distance try of the night for the Pioneers, but Nesbitt rebounded and was fouled with 1.4 seconds on the clock. He made the first, missed the second and grabbed the rebound but couldn't get a shot off in time.</p><p>In the extra period, Terry made two free throws, Ronell Crockett (18 points) converted on a driving layup and Nesbitt followed up a miss for a 61-58 lead with 3:15 left. Nesbitt stretched that out to a five-point lead a minute later. With just 40 seconds remaining, Travis Black managed to gather a loose ball and made a short jumper for a 65-60 advantage.</p><p>USC Salkehatchie made a 3-pointer at the other end and SMC missed the front end of a one-and-one from the foul line to set up the last chance for USC Salkehatchie. The Indians called timeout with five seconds left, but missed what would have been the game-winning shot.</p><p>SMC got a victory at USC Salkehatchie for the first time in the three years coached by Brookman, who improved to 55-7 during the last two seasons. </p><p>“There wasn't much difference between the two teams, obviously,” Brookman said. “”They played their hearts out and Coach (Travis) Garrett had them ready to play. I knew they would be tough.”</p><p>But the new No. 1 team in the country gets another chance Friday night at home to keep that label for at least a little while longer.</p><p>“It was a little bit different knowing that we are No. 1,” Nesbitt said. “We've always had that kind of confidence, though. We're having a lot of fun.”</p>